The Maltese economy has grown by 90% in the past seven years, Economy, Investment and Small Businesses Minister Chris Cardona said today, adding that small and medium enterprises are the backbone of Maltese economy.

Cardona was speaking at the SME National Forum, which was held by the Malta Employers’ Association.  The forum focused specifically on the topic ‘Today’s opportunities and challenges for SMEs’, where a number of distinguished speakers shared their views on a variety of topics, such as the effects of technology on employment and the role of industrial relations in a fast- changing economy.

“We want to promote entrepreneurships and to help those entrepreneurs to find the necessary support and information for their businesses,” said Cardona. He said that such forums help to understand the challenges of such SMEs are facing, especially in Malta’s economy.  He said that one of the priorities of the Labour Government is to provide quality job opportunities and provide equality and better social inclusion. He added that full-time employment brings about security and paves the way for broader, social and economic advances in society.

“In the last seven years the size of the Maltese economy has doubled, and this year the economic growth is three times that of the European average,” explained Cardona. He said the labour market is very structured and that everyone who has looked for a job has found one after a few searches. He said that the challenge the economy is facing is to find workers to fill the job vacancies to maintain the strength of economic public growth. He said that a large group of women have joined the workforce in the past seven years and those other groups like people with special needs are now also contributing to the economy much more than in previous years.

“We have been accused of being greedy capitalists but I hope that the social side of this government is being recognised, especially after the last few years budgets, especially the one published on Monday,” Cardona said. He said that the country’s new wealth, the distribution of what is being created is a fundamental and the government is looking into these issues. “Economic growth is not a dirty word but reduces poverty and increases social opportunities.”

The biggest issue is how to make our economic growth sustainable: Education Minister

Education and Employment Minister Evarist Bartolo highlighted that the government is under no illusion that the island is living in a fairy tale, but is working hard to ensure that the work of education and employment continue to strive. “The biggest issue, not just in Malta and Gozo, is sustainability of economic growth, both in the way we produce it and consume it,” said Bartolo.

He said that with a country that produces 12000 in year, but only 4000 can be filled by local workers, of course the island needs more people from overseas. “In a country which already has a large number of people visiting for tourist reasons, and people coming to Malta via migration route, we must have the courage to address these issues and these changes.” He said that such social changes have also brought about changes to the workplace, making it more versatile and the world of SME has become more challenging.

“Our workplace has become much more complex, we bring out personal narrative to our workplace, we are becoming more inclusive, bringing in more cultures and religions, which does bring in challenges, and in a small work organisation one must multitask.” He said that people with entrepreneurship skills have developed many skills and brought about numerous investments to the island.